On Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:23:07 -0800, sf wrote:

> On Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:23:46 -0800, "The Ranger"
> > wrote:
>
>> Goomba > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> sf wrote:
>>>> I absolutely hate family style, but I do require a properly set table
>>>> - fork on the left, knife on the right, napkin (folded) and placed
>>>> *under* the fork.
>>> Just a small point but... napkins aren't supposed to be under the fork but
>>> rather on the left side of the fork. You're not supposed to have to move
>>> utensils to get to the napkin, especially since the napkin should be the
>>> first thing touched (when opened up in ones lap) after sitting down.
>>
>> Hmm. The three cookbooks (Pillsbury 1963, BH&G 1959, Betty Crocker 1965,
>> 1970) from my Sainted Mother(tm) are incorrect in their
>> display/illustrations and accompanying text if this is true.
>>
> Must be a Southern thing. I've never heard of it, but Emily Post says
> "The napkin is folded or put in a napkin ring and placed either to the
> left of the forks or on the center of the dinner plate. Sometimes, a
> folded napkin is placed under the forks". She also calls this an
> *informal* table setting
> http://emilypost.com/component/content/article/371 Placing a napkin
> under the fork is more common than old Emily thought, but she ran with
> the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts so I don't think she was in touch
> with commoners who weren't servants.

what, then, should i do with the half-sized paper towels i most often use
for a napkin?

your pal,
blake